Help Please

Breakfastbar01

Hi
Before anyone comments i know i have been Naive and have heard it all already so constructive advice would be appreciated.
My limited company has gone bust, i tried getting a Liquidation company to help but they want £3000 plus vat.....if i had that i wouldnt need them!!
I have stupidly personally guaranteed some thins like the lease on the property (no break clause and 6 years left and the landlord is a nightmare i have had him reported for harassment in the past), a coffee machine worth £2000 and a small loan £3000. amongst a few other smaller debts.
We just couldnt keep up with the payments so i decided after seeking advice to cease trading.
Now this is where the insol company have left me, they advised me to ignore all creditors for now and the landlord who is demanding his rent once they valued my assets and said it wasnt enough to cover their costs they have deserted me.
What do i do??
I am getting phone calls, letters on a daily basis.
I have made peace with the fact i may become Bankrupt, i just wish i knew what steps to take first.
Do inform the landlord i have ceased trading? do i inform the creditors and will they send bailifs round my house?
Any help would be appreciated. As i said i have nothing left financially so will have to do this myself so need an idiots guide please.

Thanks in advance

GazHatesBanks

The best advice I can give you is to phone Business Debtline - 0800 197 6026 as they will be able to help you.

It is not necessary to put a limited company into liquidation. However, it is recommended that you inform all your creditors of your intention to get the company struck off at Companies House as one of your creditors may apply for liquidation (at their cost) instead - Business Debtline have a template letter to use.

Creditors cannot chase you personally for debts unless you have given a personal guarantee against them.

elljay

Yes, absolutely agree, Business Debtline - ring first thing tomorrow. They are brilliant and will guide you through the next steps and help you see the wood for the trees.

The guy I spoke to was so helpful, and also calm, which helped my panic mode immeasurably!

No payment needed, it's all free.

Brock_and_Roll

Op, when you refer to "your house", do you rent or own it? If own it, do you have any equity?

Breakfastbar01

We just bought our house last year and have about 13k in equity but its all my partners money even tho its in joint names i havent paid a thing for over 6 months
thank you for the advice guys and unfortunately i did sign as a personal guarantor for some of the smaller loans,

dancingfairy

You should definitely seek advice from business debtline, once you have wound up/ sorted the business out you will see what debts are left to you as an individual (or those you personally guaranteed). You should then take further advice regarding your debt situation as it could be that half the equity in the house could be considered to be yours. This could potentially be an issue if it came to bankruptcy and you may need to investigate you partner buying your beneficial equity.
Anyway first off start with business debtline.
Df

dancingfairy

P.s if the business fails and you are left with 5 or 6k worth of debt I would not be jumping straight for bankruptcy. There are other options you should explore such as a DMP.
Df

Breakfastbar01

Ok Update,
I sent notification emails and letters to let my creditors know i have ceased trading. I had a email from my Landlords solicitor this morning demanding i return the keys by 4pm today.
I stood my ground and said as he intends to hold me as a personal guarantee i have no need to return the keys unless he is willing to surrender the lease on the return.
With a bit of back and forth and me mentioning that the landlords previous harassment is a contributing factor to the business failing the solicitor confirmed that he would accept the surrender of the lease.
My main question is i have some h/p equipment in the property.
I have no means of removing it before i return the keys, what do i do about that?

Regards

KeepOnKnitting

I would suggest you do anything you can to pick that stuff up. If you leave it there I'm pretty sure the landlord will just keep it. I'm not speaking from a position of knowing the legal implications, just my knowledge of human nature.

elljay

Breakfastbar01 wrote: »

Ok Update,
some h/p equipment in the property.
I have no means of removing it before i return the keys, what do i do about that?
Regards

Not sure what h/p is but we had to leave a load of stuff behind at ou business unit, worth quite a lot if we'd been able to access it and sell it. Probably £1000 maybe more. Landlord wouldn't give access and I'm sure he just skipped the lot after he left. I try not to think about it but when I do, it makes me want to cry nearly 2 years on. Such a waste. Get hold of it what ever you do even if you have to drive there in the middle of the night before handing the keys over.

National_Debtline

elljay wrote: »

Not sure what h/p is but we had to leave a load of stuff behind at ou business unit, worth quite a lot if we'd been able to access it and sell it. Probably £1000 maybe more. Landlord wouldn't give access and I'm sure he just skipped the lot after he left. I try not to think about it but when I do, it makes me want to cry nearly 2 years on. Such a waste. Get hold of it what ever you do even if you have to drive there in the middle of the night before handing the keys over.

Hi elljay


HP refers to hire purchase so in all likelihood it will not be OP's equipment to sell.


That said, it would still be wise for OP to inform the HP finance company/ies about the situation, as they may want to make arrangements to collect their items from the premises. Again, this is something that Business Debtline can advise on in greater detail.


Dennis
@natdebtline